K&K Aloha pickup installed in a tenor uke?

cogfasser

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 22, 2016
Messages
149
Reaction score
55
Location
Brooklyn
Does anyone have a pickup installed in their ukulele? I play in a rehearsal studio once a month and was wondering if it was worth having a K&K Aloha installed in a custom tenor uke that is currently under build. Any advice or if I had hear of your experience with passive pickups would be greatly appreciated.
 
If the uke is currently being built then I'd say go for it. It is better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it. It will also make the uke a little more sell-able if you decide to get rid of it.
 
I have a K&K Twinspot (Almost identical to the Aloha, but the cord was designed for a guitar; the Aloha has a shorter cable.) in my Donaldson uke - wonderful pickup, needs a pre-amp or a DI box. That's my passive pickup. My Ohana CK-65D has a MiSi active pickup, and my Ohana 450QEC has an L.R. Baggs Five.O active pickup. All are great, and I do use a passive DI Box on all three, or the K&K Pure Preamp with the K&K Pickup.

When I've played at Open Mics through a DI box, I realized I didn't need the preamp for the K&K pickup.


-Kurt​
 
I have a K & K Aloha pick up in my Kamaka Tenor. I like the idea of having no batteries to replace AND no saddle adjustment to be made like other under the saddle pick ups require.

Many years ago a Tenor that had a Active Misi under the saddle p/u. It sounded good when plugged in but was very quite when played acoustically. I believe the wire braid under the saddle muted the transfer of sound from the saddle to the bridge and then to the sound board.

I use a K&K belt mounted pre- amp that I use before it is plugged in the Amp as well. I am very satisfied with the sound quality.
It's easier to have this pick up installed while the uke is under construction instead of waiting until it's finished. But, it is not impossible for a qualified master luthier.
 
I have that pickup in my Kanile’a KT1. It sounds great through my Fishman Loudbox Mini and a Fishman effects pedal.
 
If you go the K&K pick up and I think you should get it done during the build process, you will need a preamp. Usually a passive pick up does not have a hot enough signal and needs to be boosted. A friend has a K&K in a Koolau tenor and to be honest it doesn't sound very good without a preamp. With a preamp and some EQing it sounds very good.
 
I have a K&K pickup in my Kanile'a K1-T, and Kinnard Series 2. They are very nice. I prefer them to the active LR Baggs 5.0 pickups in my Martin and Pono tenors.

I like not having to change batteries. Since I don't play electric that often. My Boss amp has a built in preamp, so that's not an issue.

I agree, now's the time to have it installed. I think you'll like it.
 
Top Bottom